David Almeida, professor of human development and family studies and a faculty member with the Center for Healthy Aging at Penn State, will deliver the Pauline Schmitt Russell Research Lecture, “Health as a Daily Experience: Lessons from 42,243 Days of U.S. Adults,” at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29 via Zoom webinar.

Almeida, the 2020 recipient of the Pauline Schmitt Russell Distinguished Research Achievement Award, will present on the daily patterns of stress, social interaction, mood, physical activity, and sleep, and their role in our health and well-being. Through a 20-year study that combines daily telephone interviews about mundane, yet frequent, experiences and biological assessments of health, Almeida has shown these patterns to be powerful predictors of physical and mental health. His lecture will summarize three important findings from the study:

• It is important to distinguish between exposure and response to daily stressors.
• The variety and range of experiences are often more important than the number of experiences.
• A stress-free life is not always beneficial to physical and mental health.

Sponsored by the College of Health and Human Development, the lecture is open to the public, no registration required.

Each year, the Schmitt Russell Research Lecture is presented by the most recent recipient of the Pauline Schmitt Russell Distinguished Research Achievement Award, recognizing the contributions of a distinguished faculty member whose career-long research has had a profound impact on a specific field of study.

The award honors Pauline Schmitt Russell, who graduated from Penn State in 1948 with a degree in home economics. It was established by her husband, Leo P. Russell, a 1941 engineering graduate.